C H A P T E R  15

User-Space USB Drivers

From a user's perspective, an application that requires a kernel driver detracts from the user experience. To begin with, driver installation involves writing to the “Extensions” directory, which requires administrative privileges. Therefore, the user needs to run an installer and enter the password of an administrative account, and then possibly restart before they can begin using the application. If, on the other hand, the application doesn't require a kernel driver, the installation procedure can be as simple as downloading an application from the Mac App Store.

In some cases, an application that would typically require a kernel driver can instead be written without the developer having to write any ...

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